What I Hate About Every Launch Monitor I Own

You'd think that somewhere between $5,000 and $500, one of these launch monitors would be perfect. It isn't. After putting each of these units through their paces — across iPads, PCs, Macs, manufacturer apps and third-party software like GS Pro — I still haven't found the flawless device for my garage sim.

This is the grumpy companion to my "what I love" video. If you're shopping for a launch monitor, knowing the weak spots up front means you won't be unexpectedly disappointed by a missing feature after you've spent your money. We'll work from most expensive to least: the Garmin R50, Bushnell Launch Pro, SkyTrak ST+ and ST Max, FlightScope Mevo Gen2, Rapsodo MLM2Pro, Square Home Edition and the OG Garmin R10.

Garmin Approach R50

Bushnell Launch Pro

Garmin R50 — $5,000 and still no face impact

At five grand, you expect perfection. The R50 doesn't quite deliver it. The biggest miss is the lack of face impact data — I'd love to see exactly where the ball strikes the clubface, and while that may be a limitation of the three-camera design, it stings at this price.

The slow-motion video replay sounded exciting on paper but is a letdown in practice. It shows whether you struck the ball high or low, but it doesn't give a clear read on face location, and it lacks the benefit of a true down-the-line angle. The built-in software is appliance-like — think Topgolf — with limited practice tools and shallow data analysis. Hook it up to GS Pro on a PC, though, and it transforms from a toy into a genuine tool.

Bushnell Launch Pro — subscription pain and a confusing ecosystem

The Bushnell feels robust and solid — very much a tool. But the subscription costs are brutal: $500 a year for gold, $200 for silver. Worse, third-party software like GS Pro is gated behind the gold tier specifically, making this an expensive route to your favourite sim app.

Like the Garmin, there's no face impact even at this price point — something I do get on the cheaper Mevo Gen2. There's also no video playback of any kind, despite the three cameras. Course play requires a PC running FSX Play, and the catalog is thin (just 25 courses on gold, five on silver). Finally, the app ecosystem — FSX Play, FSX 2020, FSX Pro, plus a separate mobile app for bag mapping — is genuinely confusing.

SkyTrak ST+ & ST Max — lag, no angle of attack, indoor-only

Both SkyTrak units are solid and deliver tons of metrics — including club data without stickers — but they're missing angle of attack, an important number for shallowing out irons or hitting up on the driver.

There's also noticeable lag between impact and the shot registering: roughly 1 to 2.5 seconds depending on the unit and setup. The ST Max sped things up slightly over the ST+, but it's still enough to break immersion during a round. These are indoor-only on synthetic turf — you can't take them to a grass range or on-course. And full-swing high-loft wedges (gap wedge and up) don't register reliably for me; ball placement gets fussy.

FlightScope Mevo Gen2 — tricky setup, no native sim golf

FlightScope packs a lot of bang for the buck, with no subscriptions and full data including face impact — a treat for data nerds. The catch is setup: this is one of the harder units to configure, and that frustration shows up regularly in comments, even for technically capable users.

The built-in app gives you a basic driving range and plenty of data tools, but no virtual course play or on-course practice. To play any sim golf you'll need a third-party app, which adds another step. The integrations are good, but sometimes you just want to fire up the manufacturer app and play.